Chapter 88 Searches
Searches help you work with your data to quickly find details or related data you need.
Search WildCard
The WildCard character in Big Business is the at symbol, "@". This is the same character found in email addresses. Searching for "J@" would find "Jim", "John", and "Jane", for example.
Big Business gives you several options when searching text fields, so that WildCard searches are not needed:
• Is Equal To
• Is Not Equal To
• Begins With
• Contains
Searches Update
Update is a tool on Searches that allows you to change many records at once, quickly.
Using QuickChange on QuickSearches
Changing Values with QuickSearches
To make updating easier, Big Business Version 2.0 allows you to change records found with QuickSearches. For example, instead of opening quotes individually, you can search for quotes that expire today and extend their expiration dates as a group.
This feature is available for most QuickSearches. The presence of the QuickChange button in the list window indicates the feature’s availability. The values you can change vary depending on the types of records in the list. If any records in the list are locked, Big Business prevents you from changing them and informs you that they have not been changed.
To change values for QuickSearch:
1. Perform a QuickSearch to bring up the records you want to change.
2. Click the QuickChange button.
3. In the QuickChange dialog box, choose the value you want to change, then enter the new value. (3068)
To make updating easier, Big Business allows you to change specific fields in records that are brought up in most QuickLists. For example, instead of opening quotes individually, you can search for quotes that expire today and extend their expiration date as a group.
To use the QuickChange feature:
1. Perform your normal QuickSearch or select one of the several Q&A questions to bring up the records that you want to change.
All records found in the QuickList will be changed.
2. Click on the QuickChange button and select the value or field that you want to change.
3. Depending on the field you wish to change, you can then enter the new value or select the desired value from the popup list.
This new feature can save you a considerable amount of time and make it easier to perform widespread updates throughout larger databases. The values that can be changed vary depending on the types of records in the list. If any records in the list are locked, Big Business prevents you from changing them and informs you that they have not been changed.
Memorizing and Recalling QuickSeaches
Memorizing and Recalling QuickSearches
When you use Big Business, there are probably QuickSearches that you do over and over. For example, you may look for potential billing problems by searching for customers whose balance exceeds a certain amount.
To make it easier to perform these routine searches, Big Business Version 2.0 supports the Memorize and Recall feature for QuickSearches. See “Memorizing and Recalling Transactions” and “Searching” in Chapter 2 of the Big Business User’s Guide for detailed instructions about using these features. (3067)
When you use Big Business, there are probably QuickSearches that you do over and over. For example, you may look for potential billing problems by searching for customers whose balance exceeds a certain amount.
To make it easier to perform these routine searches, Big Business supports the Memorize and Recall feature for QuickSearches. See “Memorizing and Recalling Transactions” and “Searching” in Chapter 2 of the Big Business User’s Guide for detailed instructions about using QuickSearch features.
Exporting from Big Business
Export options in Big Business can be very handy.
For any Search (i.e. Customer, Quote, Order, Invoice, Receive Money, Vendor, PO, Bill, Item, Item Adjustment, Bank Account, Bank Transaction, Note, Contact, Employee, Category, Account, General Journal, Posting, etc.) click Export to save a Tab-Text file which you can use in a spreasheet or other program. (3048)
Export options in Big Business can be very handy.
For any Search, such as the Customer Search pictured, click Export to save a Tab-Text file with the entries found. You can click All on the Search dialog to find all entries or use the search options to narrow the results.
Follow the prompts to Save the export file to a convenient location.
Search Tool
Searching (6382)
To make it easy to find just the information you need, Big Business includes QuickSearch, a powerful search function that lets you specify which criteria to look for. You can see all the companies located in a particular city, find all the bills larger than an amount you specify, or get a list of all the items you have purchased from a particular vendor.
QuickSearch is specific to the kind of window you're searching in. For example, there are separate QuickSearch buttons for Customer Cards and Vendor Cards. The button is different for each type of search, but always contains a magnifying glass.
You use the QuickSearch dialog box to search for information. It contains three fields, which you use to build a "sentence" that tells Big Business what you're looking for. There are three parts (called search criteria) in this sentence--Search Name, Search Type, and Search Value.
For example, suppose you want to find all your customers located in the western United States. You might use Zip Code for the Search Name, "begins with" for the Search Type, and 9 for the Search Value. These criteria tell Big Business to find all the customers whose zip codes start with nine.
Search Name, Search Type, and Search Value
Search Name, Search Type, and Search Value (6383)
• The Search Name establishes the basis of the search. You can choose from a pull- down list of all the fields contained in the kind of record you?re searching for. The All Names choice means that all of the basic identifying fields will be considered in the search. For a Customer Card, these include the Customer Listing, Company Name, Customer Code, First Name, and Last Name fields. All Names for other windows uses comparable fields.
• The Search Type changes depending on which Search Name you choose. For example, if you choose a money-oriented name like Credit Limit, possible Search Types include "is greater than" or "is between." If you choose a text-oriented name like Company Name, possibilities include "begins with," "contains," and so on.
• The Search Value field changes depending on the Search Name and Search Type you choose. In some cases, it includes a pop-up list you can choose from. In other cases, it is simply a data field.
To Search
To Search (6384)
When you enter the search criteria and click the Search button in the QuickSearch dialog box, Big Business displays the search results in a list window. If no matching records are found, the list is empty. See "Viewing Search Results," later in this chapter, for more information about using this window.
You can combine several sets of search criteria to create very specific searches. See the next section, "Combining Search Criteria," for instructions.
You can also use the search function to display a window containing all the records for that kind of search--all the Customer Cards or invoices, for example. See "Finding All Records," later in this chapter, for information.
To search:
1. Click a QuickSearch button in a toolbar or window.
An empty list window appears along with a QuickSearch dialog box.
2. Choose the Search Name and Search Type you want.
3. Enter or choose the value you want, then click the Search button.
The results of the search appear in a list window. See "Viewing Search Results" for instructions.
Combining Search Criteria
Combining Search Criteria (6385)
You can combine search criteria to create very specific searches. For example, you may want to find all the customers in a particular state who have a certain characteristic.
Clicking the More Choices button in the QuickSearch dialog box opens additional rows of fields in which you can enter search criteria. You can open up to four additional rows of criteria. The search criteria you enter into each row are added to those in previous rows. Suppose your first set of criteria was "State is equal to CA" and a second set was "Customer Type is Retail." The search would find all of your retail customers in California.
To make a combined search:
1. Click a QuickSearch button in the toolbar or a window.
An empty list window appears along with a QuickSearch dialog box.
2. Enter the first set of search criteria.
3. ClicktheMoreChoicesbuttonintheQuickSearchdialogbox.
A new row of search criteria appears below the first row.
4. Enter search criteria into the new row.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for each set of search criteria you want to enter.
6. ClicktheSearchbutton.
The results of the search appear in a list window. See "Viewing Search Results" for instructions.
Finding All Records
Finding All Records (6386)
You can use the QuickSearch dialog box to display all the records of a particular type. For example, if you use the Invoice search button, you can open a list of all the invoices stored in the system. See the next section, "Viewing Search Results," for information about the search results.
The QuickSearch dialog box contains an All button in addition to the Search button. When you first open the dialog box, before you enter any search criteria, the All button is highlighted. As a shortcut, you can press the Return key to find all the records. After you have entered search criteria, the highlight shifts to the Search button.
To find all records:
1. Click a QuickSearch button in the toolbar or a window.
The QuickSearch dialog box appears.
2. Clickthe buttoninthedialogbox.
A window containing a list of all the records appears.
Viewing Search Results
Viewing Search Results (6387)
Big Business displays the results of a search in a list window. The list contains basic information about each of the matching records. This information varies depending on the type of record.
You can accomplish a number of tasks from the list window:
• Opening individual record windows
• Conducting additional searches
• Saving the list as a text file
• Printing the list
The following figure shows the result of a Customer Card search. Other searches
display the same kind of window.
List windows follow standard Big Business conventions. You can open line items, sort the list, search, and print in the usual ways. See "Getting More Information About Line Items," "Sorting Lists," "Searching," "Saving a Window to Disk," and "Printing" in this chapter for information on these topics.
Saving a Window to Disk
Saving a Window to Disk (6398)
You can save some windows to a text file that you can open in a word processor or spreadsheet. This feature allows you to use information from Big Business for other purposes. Each line in the list is saved as a line in the file, with the columns separated by tabs.
To save a window to disk:
1. Click the Save to Disk button.
A dialog box appears, asking you to specify the name and location of the file.
2. Use the dialog box to enter the name and choose the location, then click the Save button.
The contents of the list are saved to the file and location you specify.
Sorting Lists
Sorting Lists (6399)
Items in some lists can be sorted based on the information in the different column headings. In the Item QuickChoose list, for example, entries are normally sorted by the entries in the Item Code column, but you can choose to sort by one of the other column headings. Entries are sorted into numerical and alphabetical order, with numerical entries appearing first.
You can tell if a list can be sorted by looking at the column headings. If one of the column headings is underlined, you know that you can change the sort order. The underlined column heading is the one that is currently used for sorting. You can reverse the sort order by clicking the Sort Order button ( <) in the upper-right corner of the list. The button changes orientation to show the sort order.
To sort a list:
• Click the column heading you want to use for sorting.
The column heading you click is underlined and the list is reordered.